Thread: Tournament pre-fishing strategy

Originally Posted by Cmj

Thats prolly just because I caint feesh tho!

Originally Posted by Buckrub

I don't tourney fish either (I ain't quitting at weigh in time, sorry! )...........But, this raises a question I've had for years.

How many danged crappie ARE there in good crappie producing lakes? Seems almost unbelievable the numbers that come out of some waters, and all adult fish. IF these were Bass and we were eating them, Bassmasters and I Dunno Whoelse would be trying to crucify us. So, crappie are clearly different. But.........just how many are there??????????????????????? How many is enough???????????

Catch and release isn't working on the bass in Sardis. Ain't nothing like it used to be, and nobody eats the green carp there, they throw em back. Don't know where they went.

As far as crappie, there has to be millions of em D10 should have a better perspective of that.

Im not sure why Bass is any different than Crappie when it comes to catch and release. They spawn WAY more eggs than a Crappie, and predation has to be somewhat lower with Bass than Crappie. Angler harvest, to a certain degree, is good for Crappie populations. Why not Bass?

I dont know how many crappie come out of Lake Nimrod, but seems not enough.. If I catch 10 crappie on Dardanelle, 8 will be keepers and 2 of those 8 will be nice ones, 2 will be throwbacks. At Nimrod, if I catch 10 crappie 5 will be too small to keep and 4 of the others will be just barely big enough to fillet= maybe one 12 incher. I am no crappie pro, but looks like you would accidently catch some decent fish ocassionaly on lake Nimrod.( Yes, I know Nimrod catches 12 inchers consitantly, but I am talking about the normal fisherman) I know some do, but the odds are against you at Lake Nimrod. I think the crappie are over-populated and stunted..

After the CACA record catch at Dardanelle this past weekend, I think you know where to go for quality fish in the springtime. I just wonder where they go the rest of the year??

I wonder if D 10 can shed some lite on crappie surverys on those 2 lakes as far as numbers and age structure.....

Originally Posted by goblerblaster

I dont know how many crappie come out of Lake Nimrod, but seems not enough.. If I catch 10 crappie on Dardanelle, 8 will be keepers and 2 of those 8 will be nice ones, 2 will be throwbacks. At Nimrod, if I catch 10 crappie 5 will be too small to keep and 4 of the others will be just barely big enough to fillet= maybe one 12 incher. I am no crappie pro, but looks like you would accidently catch some decent fish ocassionaly on lake Nimrod.( Yes, I know Nimrod catches 12 inchers consitantly, but I am talking about the normal fisherman) I know some do, but the odds are against you at Lake Nimrod. I think the crappie are over-populated and stunted..

After the CACA record catch at Dardanelle this past weekend, I think you know where to go for quality fish in the springtime. I just wonder where they go the rest of the year??

I wonder if D 10 can shed some lite on crappie surverys on those 2 lakes as far as numbers and age structure.....

I can tell you why most people dont catch lots of quality fish on Nimrod. It has a gazillion dink Crappie in it and you can catch em just about anywhere you drop a jig or minnow. The "normal fisherman," as you call us, will begin catching these fish and assume we are on the correct pattern, spot, etc. At the end of the day we may or may not end up with a decent mess. But just like any other lake, the bigger fish on Nimrod will be in certain areas, on a certain pattern, and you have to figure out what/where it is. Nimrod does so well there because he has fished it enough to know every pattern in the book, and that if he starts catching dinks right away, then its time to move.

I will keep whatever I catch pre fishing if I need some to eat if not I throw them back just like I do when I'm fun fishing. When the freezer is full no need in bringing any more home. The only diff between pre fishing and fun fishing I won't fish a spot as long I catch a couple real good fish off to the next spot till I can put a few spots together of good fish.